Accra, Nov. 16, GNA - Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, on Thursday said the Ministry of Health had created a more health conscious population with the shift from curative to preventive health.

Mr Baah-Wiredu who was presenting the 2008 budget statement and government fiscal policy in Parliament, said the Health Ministry had also taken steps for the early detection and control of breast and prostrate cancers.

"We want to encourage lifestyle changes especially in our eating habits, so as to improve our life expectancy. Let us pray to do all we can to live longer to see the fruits of our labour". He said through the introduction of the National Health Insurance programme, Ghanaians now had improved access to better health facilities and urged those who were yet to register to do so to benefit from free health care.

He said the Ghana AIDS Commission had continued with the Implementation of the National Strategic Framework 2006-2010 and the accompanying Programme of Work (POW), which focused several interventions including Prevention and Behavioural Change, Communication, Treatment, Care and Support.

Other thematic areas, he said, included Research, Surveillance, Monitoring and Evaluation Performance in 2007. Mr Baah-Wiredu said the Commissions programme for 2008 would focus on intervention activities that would bring about behaviour change and also achieve a stabilized situation.

The focus for the year, he said, would, therefore, be on prevention and control as well as upscale of treatment and care. "The priority areas would include providing greater support for PLWHAs in the national response, enhancing interventions to reduce stigma and discrimination against PLWHAs.

Higher attention would be given to districts with high prevalence rates, focusing more on the vulnerable and high at risk groups including the security agencies and uniformed services, the Minister said.